I Like Your Shoelaces

2012catchphraseresurgent

Published September 2, 2026

"I Like Your Shoelaces" is a coded 2012 Tumblr greeting meant to help users identify each other in public, answered with "Thanks, I stole them from the president." A single reblog thread turned it into one of early Tumblr's most recognizable in-jokes, later revived as an ironic relic of old-school Tumblr culture.

tumblr memescall and response memescatchphrase memesearly 2010s memesfandom discourse memes

Overview

The exchange works as a call-and-response password. One person drops "I like your shoelaces" into casual conversation, and if the other person answers "Thanks, I stole them from the president," both know they browse Tumblr1. The line loops back to a bit of Dean Winchester dialogue from Supernatural, a show with a massive early-Tumblr fandom6. The whole idea was always more theoretical than practical, with most users joking about deploying it in the wild but rarely trying.

By the mid-2020s, the code was mostly invoked ironically, treated as a cringeworthy artifact of a specific slice of internet culture3. It sits alongside The Narwhal Bacons at Midnight, the older Reddit equivalent from 2009, as a snapshot of when platform loyalty ran deep enough that users wanted a secret handshake for public identification3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Tumblr
Date
2012

The original Tumblr thread was posted on July 2nd, 2012, though the starting account and post have since been deleted1. Archived reblogs and screenshots preserved the exchange, and the thread grew to 4.2 million notes by August 20263. The Tumblr archival blog @heritageposts, which curates notable pieces of Tumblr history, confirmed the July 2012 date and pointed to preserved copies of the original chain1.

Early Urban Dictionary entries from the same window also documented the phrase, describing it as a way for Tumblr users to spot each other outside the platform by confirming the reference6. Multiple definitions posted in the early 2010s repeated the Supernatural framing and the standard "stole them from the president" response6.

How It Spread

Through the mid-2010s, the catchphrase circulated widely on Tumblr, with users reblogging screenshots of alleged real-world attempts to use the code. On June 16th, 2017, the Tumblr blog @accessibleposts compiled a set of these purported real-life exchanges, pulling over 22,000 notes in the years that followed3. Some of the stories were treated skeptically, given Tumblr's well-known habit of inventing or embellishing anecdotes for laughs3.

In February 2019, a Reddit user posted a screenshot of the phrase to r/tumblr asking whether anyone had actually tried it in real life, drawing around 650 upvotes3. As Tumblr nostalgia picked up in the late 2010s and 2020s, the phrase was recycled as a joke about outdated Tumblr behavior rather than an actual identification tool.

On August 7th, 2024, TikToker @dicklessthewonderclown posted a video about their sister accidentally quoting the code, pulling roughly 603,200 views and 122,800 likes over the next two years2. A March 23rd, 2025 skit from @dmitrikasanovich, ending with the line "complete the ritual," reached about 2.1 million views and 230,000 likes4. On February 8th, 2026, @lovebunnycosplay posted a Death Note-styled skit built around the phrase that hit roughly 781,300 views and 156,800 likes5.

How to Use This Meme

The classic version is a two-line exchange. Person A says "I like your shoelaces" to a stranger, and Person B typically responds "Thanks, I stole them from the president"1. A match signals that both people are Tumblr users. In modern usage, dropping either half of the phrase in a TikTok comment section or a skit often works as a nostalgic wink to the 2012 Tumblr crowd more than a real attempt at covert identification4.

Frequently Asked Questions

I Like Your Shoelaces

2012catchphraseresurgent

Published September 2, 2026

"I Like Your Shoelaces" is a coded 2012 Tumblr greeting meant to help users identify each other in public, answered with "Thanks, I stole them from the president." A single reblog thread turned it into one of early Tumblr's most recognizable in-jokes, later revived as an ironic relic of old-school Tumblr culture.

tumblr memes call and response memes catchphrase memes early 2010s memes fandom discourse memes

Overview

The exchange works as a call-and-response password. One person drops "I like your shoelaces" into casual conversation, and if the other person answers "Thanks, I stole them from the president," both know they browse Tumblr1. The line loops back to a bit of Dean Winchester dialogue from Supernatural, a show with a massive early-Tumblr fandom6. The whole idea was always more theoretical than practical, with most users joking about deploying it in the wild but rarely trying.

By the mid-2020s, the code was mostly invoked ironically, treated as a cringeworthy artifact of a specific slice of internet culture3. It sits alongside The Narwhal Bacons at Midnight, the older Reddit equivalent from 2009, as a snapshot of when platform loyalty ran deep enough that users wanted a secret handshake for public identification3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Tumblr
Date
2012

The original Tumblr thread was posted on July 2nd, 2012, though the starting account and post have since been deleted1. Archived reblogs and screenshots preserved the exchange, and the thread grew to 4.2 million notes by August 20263. The Tumblr archival blog @heritageposts, which curates notable pieces of Tumblr history, confirmed the July 2012 date and pointed to preserved copies of the original chain1.

Early Urban Dictionary entries from the same window also documented the phrase, describing it as a way for Tumblr users to spot each other outside the platform by confirming the reference6. Multiple definitions posted in the early 2010s repeated the Supernatural framing and the standard "stole them from the president" response6.

How It Spread

Through the mid-2010s, the catchphrase circulated widely on Tumblr, with users reblogging screenshots of alleged real-world attempts to use the code. On June 16th, 2017, the Tumblr blog @accessibleposts compiled a set of these purported real-life exchanges, pulling over 22,000 notes in the years that followed3. Some of the stories were treated skeptically, given Tumblr's well-known habit of inventing or embellishing anecdotes for laughs3.

In February 2019, a Reddit user posted a screenshot of the phrase to r/tumblr asking whether anyone had actually tried it in real life, drawing around 650 upvotes3. As Tumblr nostalgia picked up in the late 2010s and 2020s, the phrase was recycled as a joke about outdated Tumblr behavior rather than an actual identification tool.

On August 7th, 2024, TikToker @dicklessthewonderclown posted a video about their sister accidentally quoting the code, pulling roughly 603,200 views and 122,800 likes over the next two years2. A March 23rd, 2025 skit from @dmitrikasanovich, ending with the line "complete the ritual," reached about 2.1 million views and 230,000 likes4. On February 8th, 2026, @lovebunnycosplay posted a Death Note-styled skit built around the phrase that hit roughly 781,300 views and 156,800 likes5.

How to Use This Meme

The classic version is a two-line exchange. Person A says "I like your shoelaces" to a stranger, and Person B typically responds "Thanks, I stole them from the president"1. A match signals that both people are Tumblr users. In modern usage, dropping either half of the phrase in a TikTok comment section or a skit often works as a nostalgic wink to the 2012 Tumblr crowd more than a real attempt at covert identification4.

Frequently Asked Questions